Theft-prevention apparatus



June 24, 1930. A. J. PICHL THEFT PREVENTION APPARATUS '2 Sheets-Sheet 2A 5 0 6 P k. m r H uEnEEEEEEEEE T P ,7 I N m V m 7 /z m m M W M Q\ \y wA I w 0 m n a I an m Patented June 24, 1930 UNITED, STATES PATENT FriesANrnoNY J. PICHL, or ST. LOUIS, ivrrssoonr, ASSIGNOR or onn-ronnrn T0EDWARD B. HOLLY, an, or sr. LOUIS, MISSOURI rnnrr rnnvnnrron APPARATUSApplication filed January 21, 1929. Serial No. 333,872.

This invention relates to an apparatus that is intended to be usedprimarily for preventing a robber, such as a hold-up man, from gamingaccess to a device or compartment in which money or other valuables arekept, or from forcing any person to remove the valuables from saiddevice or compartment and deliver up said valuables.

It is common practice in many business establishments, such as grocerystores, gasoline filling stations, etc, to keepconsiderable sums ofmoney in cash registers, money drawers and safes which invariably arelocated at such a point in the establishment that a robber, such as ahold-up man, can quickly remove the money or valuables from same whilehe holds the employes, occupants or customers ofthe establishment undersubjection with a revolver, gun or other weapon. Accordingly,establishments of the kind in Which money and other valuables are keptin a cash register, safe or money drawer, are a prolific source of Irevenue to hold-up men, due to the ease with which a robber havinglittle or no skill can enter such an establishment, intimidate theoccupants with a drawn weapon and then have access to the cash registeror money drawer in which the. vain ables are kept. Even in anestablishment in which the valuables are kept a safe provided with acombination lock, it is a relatively simple matter for a robber to forcethe owner or an employee to open the safe, due to the fear that iscreated in the mind ofthe average man when he is confronted with thealternative of being shot or ol'ieying the commands of a hold-up man.

The main object of my invention is to provide an apparatus that willeffectively frutrate hold-ups in business establishments, namely,robberies of the kind that are effected or carried out by a robber whoenters a store or similar establishment while business is beingtransacted in same, then intimidates all or the occupants of theestablishment with a drawn gun and then quickly removes the contents ofthe cash register, money drawer or safe and departs almost before theoccupants realize what has happened.

To this end I have devised an apparatus that consists of a passagewayproportioned so that it is not large enough to hold more than one personat a time, and arranged so that it serves as the sole entrance to acompartment or space in which valuables are kept, an entrance door andan exit door for said passageway so constructed and combined that theexit door leading from said passageway to the valuables cannot be fullyopened to gain access to the valuables, unless the entrance door of saidpassageway has been moved into its fully closed position, a latch forsaid exit door combined with same in such a manner that when said doorstarts to move towards its open position, said latch operatesautomatically and locks said door, thereby preventing said door frombeing moved either into its open position or restored to its closedposit-ion, and a combination lOClIOI similar means associated with saidlatch for preventing said latch from being manipulated or tripped torelease the exit door.

WVith an apparatus of the construction above described the only way thata robber can gain access to the compartment or place where the valuablesare kept is by entering a passageway and closing the entrance door ofsaid passageway, for, as previously stated, the. exit door leading tothe valuables cannot be moved into its fully open position unless theentrance door to said passageway has previously been closed. There islittle liability of a robber taking such a chance, for he knows that ithe enters the passageway and closes the entrance door of same, he willbe cut off from the occupants of the establishment, and will thus beunable to intimidate them, with the result that someone will surelyescape from the establishment and give an alarm. If, however, a robbershould have the temerity to enter the passageway of the apparatus, closethe entrance door of same and then endeavor to open the exit doorleading to the valuables, he would be locked in the passageway by theaction of the latch for the exit door that becomes operativeautomatically while the eXit door is being moved to wards its openposition, said latch being con trolled and retained in its locked oroperative son familiar with the construction and opera- 7 tion of same,and which is located in such a position that it is not visible to aperson standing in the passageway. It is impossible for the robber toforce an employee of the establishment to accompany him into thepassageway, due to the fact that said passageway is not large enough tohold two persons. It the robber should compel an employee of theestablishment to enter the passageway alone, this will avail himnothing,as it is impossible for the employee to gain access to the compartmentor space in which the valuables are kept without first closing theentrance door to the passageway preparatory to opening the exit door. Indoing this the employee would become protected from the robber, for theemployee would be located in a closed passageway constructed preferablyfrom sheet steel or some other bullet-proof material.

From the foregoing it will be seen that an apparatus of the constructiondescribed practically frustrates hold-ups or daylight rob beries, suchas are now being perpetrated extensively in business establishments, due

to the fact that it comprises a bulletproof passageway leading to aplace where Valuables are stored, proportioned so that two personscannot enter and pass through the same at the same time and equippedwith a plurality of doors and a door locking mechanism designed so thatthe door leading to the valuables can be opened only by a personfamiliar with the construction and principle of operation of theapparatus, and furthermore,

can only be opened after the entrance door to the passageway has beenfully closed.

An apparatus embodying my invention can be constructed either in the"form of a sheet metal cabinet provided with two compartmcnts, one ofwhich serves a storage'space in which money or valuables can be kept,and the other serving as a passageway that leads to said space, or theapparatus can be constructed in the form of an attachment or ad junctfor vaults, that may consist simply of a sheet metal housing adapted toserve as a passageway and equipped with an entrance door and an exitdoor that leads to compartment of the vault in which valuables arestored.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a horizontal sectional. view, illustratingan apparatus cmbodying my invention, combined with a vault so as toprevent a hold-up man from gaining access to the compartment of thevault in which valuables are stored.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view, illustra ing another form of myinvention, consisting of a cabinet constructed from sheet metal andprovided with two compartments, one of which serves as a storage spacefor valuables and the other serving as a passageway to said storagespace.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional View, taken 011 the line 33 of Figure2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Figure & is a horizontal sectional view, similar to Figure 2, taken onthe line H of Figure 5, showing the entrance door to the passageway inits fully closed position, and the exit door from said passageway in itspartially open position.

Figure 5 is a Vertical sectional View, taken on the line 55 of Figure 4.7

Figure 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the latch for theexit door, taken on the line 66 of Figure 4.

Figure 7' is an enlarged side elevational view, partly in section,illustrating the latch for the exit door; and

Figure 8 is a horizontal sectional view,

taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 6.

In the accompanying drawings, A designates a passageway, constructedpreferably from sheet steel or some other suitable bullet-proofmaterial, and proportioned so that it is only approximately large enoughto receive one person standing in a normal upright position. Thepassageway A is so ar ranged that it constitutes the sole entrance to acompartment or space in which valuables are adapted to be stored. In theform of my invention shown in Figure 1 said storage space consists of acompartment B in a vault whose interior is divided by avertically-disposed partition 1, the sheet metal housing or casing 2that constitutes the passageway A being permanently combined with andform ingan integral portion of a swingingdoor 3 in the partition 1 thatnormally occupies a closed position, shown in full lines in Figure 1,said door 3 being held in its closed position by a retaining device 4arranged on the in side of the partition 1, i. e., on the side prcsentedtowards the storage compartment B.

In the form of my invention shown in Figure 2 which represents thepreferred form of my invention, the passageway A is formed by oneportion of a cabinet 2 constructed from sheet metal or some othersuitable bullet-proof material and made'large enough so that a portionof the interior of said cabinet can be used to form a storagecompartment B, as shown in Figure 2. 7 Usually, the cabinet 2 will beproportioned so that one-half of same will constitute apassageway A inwhich a person can stand in an upright position, and the other half willconstitute a storage space or compartment for money and other valuables.

The passageway A in both forms of my invention is provided with anentrance door C of the sliding type, an exit door D also of the slidingtype. The entrance door C is used as closure for, the opening in one ofthe walls of the cabinet or casing through which a person can enter thepassageway A, and the exit door D is arranged at right anwear e sure foran opening loading from the passageway A to the storage space orcompartment B or B. The casing or cabinet of the appa ratus is providedwith a pocket C that receives the entrance door C when said entrancedoor is moved into its open position, and said casing or cabinet is alsoprovided with a pocket D that receives the exit door -'D when said exitdoor is moved into its open position. The details of construction of thecabinet and the doors C and D associated with same are immaterial andcan be varied in numerous ways without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

As previously stated, the entrance door and exit door D of thepassageway A are so constructed and arranged with relation to' eachother, that the entrance door must be in its fully closed positionbefore the exit door can be opened, and the entrance door must be in itsfully closed position before the exit door can be opened. 'In the formof my invention herein illustrated this result is attained by arrangingthe doors C and D at right angles to each other, and disposing them insuch relation that when the door C is moved into its pocket C, as shownin FigureiQ, it serves as a stop or abutment against which the rear edgeof the door D strikes, if an attempt is made to move said door D intoits open position. Likewise, when the exit door 1) is moved into itspocket D, as shown in Figure 4, it serves as a stop or abutment againstwhich the rear edge of the door C strikes, if an attempt is made to movesaid door G into its open position. The only way that the valuables inthe storage compartment of the apparatus may be reached is by a personmoving the entrance door 0 nto its open position, then entering thepassageway A, then restoring said entrance door .0 to its fully closedposition, and thereafter moving the exit door D into its open position,whereupon the person may pass from the passageway A into the storagecompartment. In order to prevent the entrance to the'storage compartmentof a robber or other person not familiar with the construction andprinoiple of operation of the apparatus, I provide the exit door D ofthe apparatus with a latch E, preferably of the spring-operated type,which is mounted on said doorD in such a we y that said latch will beinoperative when the door D is in its fully closed position. but saidlatch will operate automatically to lock the door D after said door hasbeen moved slightly towards its open position, said latch E beingcontrolled by or combined with a combination lock or similar mechanism Fthat is used to retain said latch E in. its operative position andprevent said lat-ch from being tripped or rendered inoperative by aperson not familiar with the combination of the lock F, or familiar withthe method of operating the same. In other words, the apparatus is soconstructed that the exit door D will become locked automatically in apartly open condition, during the operation of moving said door; towardsits open position, and further movement ofsaid exit'door D either to itswlde open pos tion" or back to its closed position is prevented unlessthe person endeav-oring to gain access to the storage compartment knowshow to manipulate or actuate the combination lock F that controls thelatch E, on said exit door.

The particular type or design of the latch E or. other means that isused to arrest the movement of the exit door D towards its open positionis immaterial, so far as my invention is concerned, and various types orkinds of combination locks or snnilar mechanisms may be used to preventan unauthorized person from tripping or rendering inoperative the latchor equlvalent device E that 1s associated with the exit door D,leadingfrom the passageway A. In the form of my invention hereinillustrated the latch E consists of a vertically-disposed plungerrecipr0catingly mounted in a bearing 5 attached to the side face of thedoor D adjacent the upper edge of same and combined with an expansionspring 6 that exerts pressure on said plunger in a direction to hold theupper end of said plunger pressed against a stationary bracket 7arranged at one side of the path of travel of the door D, said bracket 7having an elongated slot 7 formed therein, as indicated in Figure 5, andalso as shown clearly in Figure 7. When the door D is in 7 its fullyclosed position, the upper end of the plunger E bears against a solidportion of the bracket 7, thus holding the springs 6 under compression.As soon as the door I) starts to move towards its open position, the

plunger E comes into registration with the slot 7' in the bracket 7 andmoves upwardly into said slot, due to the force or pressure of thespring 6, thereby arresting the move ment of the door D and preventingit from being moved into its wide open position. The slot 7 in thebracket 7 is preferably proportioned so that after the door D has beenopenedslightly, the plunger E will enter the slot in the bracket 7 andtravel through said,

stationary bracket 7 with which it co-operatesr Usually, the actuatingdevice 8 will consist of a chain or cord that depends from the lowerendof the plunger E, and which is 'so arranged that it can be graspedeasily by a person who passes his arm around the front edge of the doorD, after said door has been partly opened, as shown in Figure 5.Ohviously, when the plunger E is moved downwardly or disengaged fromtheslot 7 1n the bracket 7, the exit door D canbe moved into its wideopen position.

It is impossible, however, for an unauthorized person, or person notfamiliar with the construction and principle of operationof theapparatus to pull the plunger E downwardly, so as to render itinoperative, and thus release the door D. Such movement of the plunger Eis prevented by the part of the apparatus which I have referred to asthe combination lock F for the latch of the exit door. Said combinationlock is herein illustrated as being formed by two horizontally-disposed,screwthreaded shafts mounted in the bearing 5 in which the plunger Ereciprocates, and provided with cut-out portions, designated by thereference character 9 in Figure 8, which are so disposed that they willregister with the passageway 9 in the bearing 5 in which the lower endportion. of the plunger E'slides, if the said screw-threaded shafts havebeen properly set or adjusted. In all other positions of said shaftsportions of same project into the passageway 9, and thus act as a stopor abutment for the plunger E which prevents said plunger from beingmoved clownwardly far enough to disengage said plunger or withdraw theupper end of same from the elongated slot 7 in the bracket 7. Usually,each of the threaded shafts F will be provided at its front end with anon-circularshaped portion 10, as shown in Figure 8, over which aremovable operating handle 10*, shown in Figure 5, can be slipped, so asto adjust or set the combination lock that is associated with the latchE.

In order to facilitate the use of the apparatus by an authorized personor persons, a means is provided for holding the latch E in an inactiveor inoperative position, after said latch has been disengaged from'thepart- 7 with which it cooperates to hold the exit door D againstmovement. One means that I have found to be efiicient and highlypracticable for this )ur ose consists of a s Jrin pressed bolt 11arranged horizontally in the bearing 5 in such a way that when theplunger E is drawn downwardly far enough to withdraw the upper end ofsame fromithe slot the bracket 7, said bolt 11 wi l snap into engagementwith an annular recess or groove 12 in the plunger E, under theinfluence of the spring 13 that acts on said bolt, and which is shown inbroken lines in Figure T. In order that said holding device 11 will betripped or rendered inoperative automatically after it has performed itsfunction, and thus cause the latch E to be restored to such a conditionthat it will be ready to perform its function when the eXit door D isthereafter moved towards its open position, I have provided the bolt 11with an extension 11*, shown in Figure 7, that is adapted to strikeagainst a member of the structure arranged in close proximity to thefront edge portion of the door D when said door is restored to its fullyclosed osition re )arator to o enin the entrance door G of thepassageway A.

rVhile the latch E and the combination lock F or other means associatedwith same can be constructed in various ways without departing from thespirit of my invention, I

prefer to construct the apparatus in such a way that it is necessary forthe user to set the combination lock or equivalent means in oneposition, i. e., to permit the latch E to be drawn downwardly, beforethe exit door D can be moved into its wide open position, and

' is employed, i. e., to prevent an unauthorized person from renderingthe latch E inoperative preparatory tomoving the exit door into its wideopen position.

In the form of my invention herein illustrated the latch E is composedof two elements, as shown in Figure 6, i. e., a top element thatcomprises the upper end portion of the plunger E in which the annulargroove 12 is formed, and a bottom portion 14 to which the actuatingdevice 8 is attached, said bottom portion 14 being capable of movingrelatively to the upper portion of the plunger and being provided with arod 15 that projects upwardly through a hole in the top portion of theplunger. At the upper end of said rod 15 is a head 16 which ispositioned in a bore in the upper portion of the plunger E. A spring 6is combined with the lower portion 1a of the plunger E in such a waythat it exerts upward pressure on the -por tion 1 1 ofthe plunger, andthe component parts of the latch E of the structure are so proportionedand arranged that when the upper end portion of the latch is positionedin the slot 7 in the bracket 7, the head 16 at the upper end of the rod15 will be in engagement with the bottom or lower end of the bore in theupper portion of the plunger in which said head is positioned.Consequently, if the combination lock F has been set in such a positionas to permit the latch. E to be rendownwardly out of engagementwith theslot in the bracket 7. As soon as the upper end portion of the plunger Emoves downwardly into its inoperative position, the springpressed bolt11 snaps. into engagement. with the annular groove .12, andtthus holdsthe latch E inan. inoperative position until the exit door is thereafter.restoredto its fully closed position. rAs soon as the user releases theactuating device 8, however, the lower portion ldoi the plunger willmove upwardly -under the influence-r its actuating spring 6,

and thus cause the bottom-endofsaid portion 1% to be positioned abovethe two horizontally-disposed threaded shafts F that constitute thecombination lock or equivalent means that preventsfan unauthorizedperson from tripping or releasing thelatch E.

.it' win thus be seen that even when the upper end-portion of thelatch'E is held in an inoperative position by the spring-pressed bolt11, the shafts 1* can be turned into such. a

position that they act as a stop tor the lower I end portion let-oi theplunger which prevents said lower end portion Irom being drawndownwardly. I in order to require the user to .adjustsaid shaits E intothis position, i. e., winto a position to change the combination, oranother words, prevent an unauthorizedpersoni from: thereafter renderingthe latch 1n- Ioperative,theshatts 1* :are mounted in the bearing 5 insuch a way thatuthey will: strike I against a stationary part of thecabinet located adjacent the trout edge of the exit door WllQll SELlCldoOris moved back to: it s-closed =position,..unless said shafts F have"beenturn'ed into sucha'position that the cut-out portions 9 of same donot ,i'egister with the passageway 9 in the bearingf) in'which the@lower end portion 14 0f the plunger moves. In using the apparatus itlSiLbSOlllDQlY necessary for the user. to screw the shafts'F rearwardlyinto the bearing 5 :far enough to pre-. vent the front ends of saidshafts from strikingagainst the stationary part of the cabinet when theexit door is restored to its iully closed position, and indoing this, i.e., screwing the shafts into=such a .position,t. the user, changes thecombination and makes it neces-. sary for the next user of. theapparatus to adjust or manipulate the lock F properly be-- fore thelatch L can bepulleddownwardly so.

' as to release theexit doorand permit it to be moved into its wide openposition.

The method ofusingand operating theapparatus is as follows: p

The-money or other valuables which it is desired to protect are keptinthe I storage space E or Bof'the apparatus,and theexit door D. leadingto said storage space from the passageway A is-norma-lly maintained inits fully closed position, as shown in Figure 2. If an authorized persondesires to gain access to the storage, he moves the entrance door G intoits open position, then enters the passageway A, then restores theentrance door to its fully closed position, as shown in Figure 4:, andthen moves the exit door D towards its open position. In the operationof open-= the storage compartment.

7 or hold-ups or :ing the exit door the latch E springs upwardlyinto the.slot of the bracket 7, and thus arrests further ,movement of .said doortowards its open position, but .said door has moved far enoughto permitthe user to pass his armaround the front edge ofsame and grasp theactuating. device 8 and pull it downwardly, so as to trip the latch E,and thus release thedoor D, providing the combination lock F is set oradjusted so as to not interfere with the downward -move ment of thelatch E. In order to properly set or adjust the combination lock F, theuser manipulates the handle 10 in such a way as to move the shafts Finto such a position that the cutout portions 9 of same will registerwith the passageway 9 in the bearing 5 in which the plunger constitutingthe latch E reciprocates, after which the plunger E can be pulleddownwardly and the door D can-be moved into its fully open position. Toleave the passageway A it is necessary for the user to move the door Dback to its .fully'closed position, preparatory to opening the entrancedoor (Land in this operation of restoring the exit door D to its fullyclosed position, the spring-pressed bolt llzthat constitutesthe holdingdevice for the plunger. E is moved in a direction to release theplungeriand permit it to move upwardly into engagement with a solidportion of the bracket 7 and thus be in readiness to enter the slot '7in. said bracket the next time the exit door. D is ;moved towards itsopen position.

An, apparatus or the construction above de-- scribed is highlypracticable for use in business establishments. for storinginoneywandother valuables, because it'is of such construcitlOl] that the employeeor employees of the establishment who have custody of the valuables haveeasy access to the compartentor '-;place 'where the valuables are kept.However, the apparatus eflectively prevents an unauthorized person, suchas a robber, from gaining access to the place where the .valuawhichmust-be fully-closedbefore thedoor leading toithe storagecompartmentscan be fi'illyopened,said passageway beingof such sizethatit is impossible for arobber and an employee "of the establishmentto occupy the passageway at the same time.

to a passageway in said cabinet, an exit door leading from saidpassageway to a compartment in said cabinet which is used for storingvaluables, said doors being of the sliding type and arranged in suchrelation that either of said doors when in apartly open position,

blocks the other door or prevents the same from being opened, and amechanism in the storage compartment associated with said exit door andconstructed so that it has to be manipulated in a certain manner beforethe exit door can be moved into its fully open position, even though theentrance door is fully closed. Y

2, An apparatus for the purpose described, comprising a casing orhousing that is adapted to serve as the entrance passageway to a storagecompartment, an entrance door and an exit 1 door for said passagewayslidingly mounted and arranged so that either of said doors, when in apartially open condition, is disposed in the path of movement of theother door, thus preventing said other door' from being opened, aspring-actuated latch on the exit door, a part that co-operates withsaid latch to maintain it in an inoperative condition when said exitdoor is fully closed, and to cause said latch to become operativeautomatically to maintain said exit door in a partially open conditionwhen an attempt is made to 'move said door towards its open position, ameans associated with said latch that requires manipulation in a certainmanner before said latch can be actuated to release said exit door, anda device for holding said latch in an inactive condition after it hasbeen actuated to release said exit door.

An apparatus for the purpose described,

comprising a casing or housing that is adapted to serve as the entrancepassageway to a storage compartment, an entrance door and an exit doorfor said passageway slidingly mounted and arranged at right angles toeach other, thereby causing either or said doors, when in a partiallyopen condition, to block or prevent the opening or the other door, aspring-actuated latch on the exit door, a part that co-operates withsaid latch to maintain it in an inoperative condition when said exitdoor is fully closed, and to cause said latch to become operativeautomatically to maintain said exit door in a partially open conditionwhen an attempt is made to move said doors towards its open position, ameans associated with said latch that requires manipulation in a certainmanner before said latch can be actuated to release said exit door, anda device for holding said latch in an inactive condition after it hasbeen actuated comprising apas'sageway arranged so as to to release saidexit door, said holding device being rendered inoperative automaticallyby the movement of said exit door back to its fully closed position; i a

4. An apparatus for the purpose described,

serve as the entrance to a compartment or space in which valuables arestored, an entrance door and an exit door for said passageway arrangedinsuch relation that either of said doors, when in a partly opencondition, blocks the other door and prevents the same from beingopened, and a'meansassociated with said exit door that requiresmanipulation before said exit door can be fully opened and also requiresmanipulation before said exit door can be restored to its fully closedposition. I r 5. An apparatus for the purpose described, comprising apassageway arranged so as to serve as the entrance to a compartment orspace in which valuables are stored, a sliding entrance door for saidpassageway, and a sliding exit door for said passageway, said doorsbeing arranged in such relation that either of said doors when in otherthan a fully closed condition acts as an abutment which blocks orprevents the other door from beingopened.

6. An apparatus comprising a passageway arranged so as to serve as theentrance to a compartment or space in which valuables are stored,proportioned so that it is not large enough to hold more than oneperson, a sliding entrance door and a sliding exit door for saidpassageway arranged in such relation that either of said doors when inan open or partially open condition serves as an abutment that blocks orprevents the opening of the, other door, and a '1 lock that operatesautomatically to locksaid exit door in a partially open condition duringtheact of opening said, exit door.

7. An apparatus for the purpose described, comprising a passagewayarranged so as to serve as the entrance to a compartment or space inwhich valuables are stored, a sliding entrance door for said passageway,a sliding exit door for said passageway, said doors for the purposedescribed,

